Peter Corroon's Style of Ethics

PETER CORROON'S STYLE OF ETHICS
Written by Utah Blogger Holly On the Hill

What is with these candidates who trumpet their support of ethics and then show their lack of? Last week, Salt Lake County mayor, Peter Corroon said he was going to run a positive campaign for governor. That lasted two days when he then released a 54-page document attacking Gary Herbert. Today, he allowed his press secretary to send around an email to all county employees ragging on the governor.

Jim Braden sent out an email entitled “Special Edition: Who’s In Charge” to all county employees. The politically motivated email links to every negative news article about Governor Gary Herbert – and of course nothing at all unfavorable to Corroon. Hello?!

Corroon is vocal in his support for ethics UEG style, yet he abuses his office as county mayor, says the governor’s mansion is for sale and that contributions of $50,000 should raise red flags, he himself is – wait for it – taking contributions of $50K from a company doing business with the county.

Kem Gardner’s company – Gateway Associates – developed & owns the Gateway as well as residential, commercial and retail in Salt Lake County. Salt Lake County owns property at the gateway including Clark Planetarium. The county pays Gateway Associates, Kern Gardner pays Corroon’s campaign. Nice.

Fox 13: Kearns residents surprised, angered over police fees

KEARNS - A new bill for the increase in police fees is expected to arrive for property owners in unincorporated areas. A crowd of angry residents had the opportunity to ask council members and sheriff questions in the last of three open houses Thursday night. Despite extensive news coverage and packed public comment hearings, many were caught off guard by a flyer in the mail announcing the additional fee.

"I'm fine with paying taxes for it but i'm not fine paying an additional fee and an additional tax that is disproportionate to some citizens of Salt Lake County, relative to others," Gregory Von Ax said.

Salt Lake County lost 30 percent in sales revenue in the recession and a $13 million dollar hole was left even after all the budget cuts. "We've crunched that budget down to the bare bones and now we're at a place where we have to provide law enforcement to our community and we have to pay for it," Jim Bradley from the Salt Lake County Council said.

The police fee bills will arrive March 1. The cities within the county will not get the bill because residents pay the fee with a tax on utilities. The legislature is considering a bill that will allow the county to do the same thing.

Taxpayers threaten lawsuit against Salt Lake County for police fee

The Utah Taxpayers Association is threatening to sue to stop Salt Lake County from collecting a police fee that thousands of homes and businesses in the unincorporated area paid this month for the first time.
“If the only way to get this problem solved turns out to be litigation,” association spokesman Royce Van Tassell said Tuesday, “so be it.”
Talk of a lawsuit emerged this week in a monthly newsletter, in which the business-backed group challenged the county’s new fee as illegal and unfair.
“It appears to me that the taxpayers association is looking for an issue to justify its existence,” said County Councilman Jim Bradley, a member of the county law-enforcement district board that levied the fee. “It they are so disposed [to sue], let them do it.”
With the recession taking a toll on tax revenues, the county decided late last year to charge homes, businesses and even churches and charitable institutions varying fees for law enforcement.
Homeowners would pay an extra $174 a year, while businesses would pay more — depending on the demand their type of operation places on police services.
But the taxpayers association says the county never mentioned the possibility of new fees when it formed the law-enforcement district last year. Neither, the group says, did a resolution that bestowed taxing authority on the district.
The association also alleges the county imposed the fee unfairly, sometimes sending multiple bills to a single property because it served as the registered address for several businesses. (In one case, the county charged businesses that weren’t located in the unincorporated area.)
Bradley countered that the police fee isn’t unprecedented or illegal. Other special districts already impose fees for water, sewer and garbage collection.
As for fairness?
“There are certain individual circumstances that the police district is willing to look at to make sure that everybody is being treated fairly,” said County Mayor Peter Corroon, also a member of the law-enforcement district board. But, overall, the police fee is a “very fair system.”
The taxpayers association still may skip suing. But, if it does, the group vows to push for legislative changes to “eliminate this fee.”

Corrunicorn: Peter Corroon and the Howard Dean Scream

Peter Corroon wants a lot of earmarks for his county government

Corroon tries to have his cake and eat it too

Why did Peter Corroon decline to make declaration to limit campaign contributions?

Peter Corroon is certainly touting a message of campaign finance reform to limit campaign contributions when his Republican opponent is outpacing his fund raising effort, but has Peter Corroon always been for limiting campaign contributions?

The answer is NO.

In his 2001 race for Salt Lake City Council in District #3, Peter Corroon filed a statement with the City Recorder declining to make a declaration to limit campaign contributions and expenditures.



Fast forward to today. Peter Corroon repeatedly has called for campaign finance reform yet he has never held himself to self-limit campaign contributions and expenses. The do-as-I-say, not as-I-do strategy demonstrates the excruciating hypocrisy that has defined Peter Corroon's candidacies.